Premier Andrew Fahie has called on the Opposition Leader Marlon Penn to “stop playing games” with the names of local businesses.
The premier’s comments follow Penn’s most recent quest to have Premier Fahie disclose the details of the $786,000 air conditioning contract, which was awarded to Quality Air Conditioning and Refrigeration for the Multipurpose Sports Complex on Tortola in 2021.
At a press conference on Wednesday, February 2, Penn said he had substantiating evidence to support his claim that the lowest bidder for the contract, which was another local company, bid $300,000 lower than the winning bidder.
According to Penn the overlooked local company has over 25 years of experience in the air conditioning sector and despite bidding considerably lower than the winning bidder, the company’s bid was disqualified after allegedly not writing the figure of the bid in words.
Penn therefore questioned the disparity between the two bids and called on the premier to bring forward all the information relevant to the contract and the bidding process.
Premier’s response
In response to Penn’s comments, the premier said that the Opposition leader was being reckless with his recurring comments on the subject matter.
He said he saw no reason why Penn should be spewing such defamatory information, since as a member of the Public Accounts Committee he has the access to contracts issued by the government.
Premier Fahie also briefly explained the process that the contract went through prior to approval.
For more information on this story, tune in to our 7pm newscasts for the full details.